Welcome to my blog!

Hi! I'm happy you took a moment to drop in. I'm Shannon Montez...a San Jose-based photographer capturing all aspects of family life: families, babies, children, maternity, seniors and weddings. My big goal is to help you love the people in your life more and capture them in a beautiful and wonderful way. This is where I talk about the latest stuff going on with the business and the family and random stuff banging around in my head. I'm goofy and a little crazy sometimes, so please forgive me if/when I say anything stupid. :)

Breaking the Tuesday slump!

August 12, 2008 – 10:20 pm

Something about Tuesdays this summer… I must be in a coma between the hours of  2pm and 7pm.  Every single Tuesday for the past month, I’ve forgotten all about our busy Tuesday afternoon and stayed home all day. Which is nice, most days, except that Sophia has gymnastics at 3:15, and Matthew has karate at 5:30. I didn’t seem to even think of that fact until about 6:30 on Tuesday evening.

Well, I’m patting myself on the back right now, because I’ve broken my shameful streak. I remembered the activities! Hooray! Pathetic, I know, but I’m happy with myself anyway. Things are much better when school is in, schedule-wise. I so much more schedule-oriented during the school year. I love the lazy aimlessness of summer, but I think we’re all ready for a little more productivity.

Speaking of productivity, want to see my latest twin session? This one was a little different for me, I processed it with a little more vintage or moody feel. But it fit. I like it.

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The binky, the hand, I’m not sure, but for some reason I love this one.

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Cheek to cheek. You KNOW those cheeks are soft and kissable…

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This one cracks me up. With two babies, there is always plenty of crying going on! Their parents were pros, totally relaxed and taking everything in stride.

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A sleepy smile!! They make me so happy…

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A fun, relaxed family portrait… the first of many to come! :)

By shannon | Posted in babies, photography, portraits | 2 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

liberty park

August 7, 2008 – 9:27 pm

So, while I was in Utah, I did a family session at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.

It was a HOT day, and I wither quickly… but despite the heat, we got some really fun shots! I always LOVE going to a location I haven’t used before. Everything is fresh and fun.

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By shannon | Posted in Families, portraits | 4 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

iPhone Wednesdays

August 6, 2008 – 11:22 pm

I was just looking through my pictures and noticed that some of my favorite pictures are ones that I’ve taken with my iPhone. Technically, they’re really not up to standard. I doubt I’ll ever even print one of them… they’re really not wall-worthy.

But blog-worthy? Totally!

Thing is, I don’t carry my great camera everywhere I go. In order to muster the strength to carry that thing around, I have to be pretty sure I’m going to get some great shots. But my phone is always with me. So something funny happens, I grab that phone and capture it, regardless of how artistic it may or may not turn out. :) I’ve got a bunch of treasures just gathering dust in my pictures folder. What a waste.

So for the next several weeks, maybe months… I’m dusting off those treasures and putting them here. So… for the inaugural edition of iPhone Wednesdays, a moment that has already become a family classic line:

“Do you like my big face?”

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Backstory… enjoying a delicious meatball lunch at Ikea one day a couple months ago… Franklin stuck an entire meatball in his cheek and asked us several times (because we couldn’t understand him very well!) “Do you like my big face?” He knew he was funny, but barely cracked a smile. I love it when funny kids deadpan!

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By shannon | Posted in iphone wednesday, personal | 1 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Adorable Evan

July 28, 2008 – 6:09 pm

Ok… so rather than trying to catch up, I’m going to go ahead and skip my backlog and post a current session. :)

I love these guys… We had so much fun at the maternity session, and then again with the sweet little man! We shot at an amazing property that I’m afraid I didn’t fully take advantage of. When I shoot close-up so much of the time, the setting becomes almost irrelevant (a GOOD thing most of the time, especially if the backgrounds aren’t all that great). But either way, it was fun to have such great light and space to work in!

A collage from both sessions:

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This one feels all dreamy to me… like those bleary-eyed but magical first few weeks…eblog6.jpg

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I really, really love the big/small contrast with the daddies. This one was especially so…

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And those tender moments with big, tough daddies melt me…

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A nice little family portrait:

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And kind of an unusual one…I could see mom’s reflection in mr. man’s eye…

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Now that my baby is four, I really NEED sessions like these! It’s so fun to play with the sweet fresh babies. :)

By shannon | Posted in Families, babies, photography, portraits | Tagged , , | 3 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

My favorite view of Old Faithful

July 26, 2008 – 8:45 pm

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It’s been a crazy month… sorry for my month-long absence from blogworld! But it’s been a great one.

You know how much work it takes to get ready to leave and then to catch up when you get back…  Plus run a business and take care of a family at the same time… Well, I’m starting to finally catch up and hopefully soon I can share all the fun I’ve been up to! I’m way way way behind on posting sessions, but I’ll do some of that too. Starting Monday, I’ll be a good little blogger again… :)

By shannon | Posted in old blog | 3 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Opposites

June 22, 2008 – 9:51 pm

So, today, all four of my brothers competed in and finished an Ironman Triathalon. If you’re not familiar with that, imagine swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles ALL IN ONE DAY. They finished in times from 11 and a half hours to over 13 hours.

Today, I took a nap for over 2 hours.

Way to go Caldwell Pain Train!! Maybe tomorrow I’ll think about doing some exercise or something.

By shannon | Posted in cool stuff, news, personal | 6 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Tricia and Jason at Eagle Ridge Golf Course

June 19, 2008 – 8:09 pm

Tricia has been waiting patiently for her images… Let’s not waste any more time. On to the images!

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Above: the details… all ready and waiting to play their big part. :)

And- let’s get this show on the road!

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Tricia’s best friend couldn’t hold back the tears once she saw Tricia in her dress…

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I love how you can see her friend’s supportive approval in the background.

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She looked amazing.

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I love that little Mona Lisa smile…

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Let’s not forget the guys! They were a little less sentimental.

Jason’s daughter was a delight.

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The beautiful scenic location at Eagle Ridge in Gilroy.

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I LOOOVE this shot that Dave caught. (I love it when I get to bring the hubby to work!) Jason was surprised and delighted when the Star Wars theme was played as they walked out after the ceremony.

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More of the gorgeous location.tjwblog11.jpg

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No fun being the only kid at the adult table…

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Yes, there was dancing… but this was only the beginning. Jason brought down the house with his solo number…

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Here he is, preparing… The music was “Dancing Queen” and apparently this was an encore presentation from an earlier performance that involved a cruise ship and a lot of booze and many of the people that were there that night… :) I’m only showing one image, but the whole routine was as good as this. tjwblog161.jpg

Tricia, Jason… Thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of your totally fun day!

By shannon | Posted in photography, weddings | 1 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Summer begins…

June 13, 2008 – 5:07 pm

Just hours into summer vacation-

My mom (a teacher): It’s passing too quickly!

Shelby (a student): It’s only 4 o’clock? What am I going to do with my life?

By shannon | Posted in news, personal | 2 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Whoa…

June 9, 2008 – 12:33 am

**I meant to publish this on Saturday! I wrote it Friday, but couldn’t figure out how to set it up to publish later. :) **

Somehow, eleven years has passed since I first met this soul…kidsblog5.jpg

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Seriously? HOW!!

Someone trying to sell me something recently asked if I was over 25. I nearly said no, and I really meant it. Then it occurred to me that, no, I’m not under 25, and not barely… I’m seven years past that mark. It was a weird moment. For some reason, Shelby’s birthdays are even weirder to me than my own. At first motherhood was such an uncomfortable suit to wear. But it grew on me and became my skin. I wouldn’t know who I was without the lessons she has taught me. I’m such a different person than I would be without the lessons she taught me as we’ve taken this journey. It took more patience and selflessness than I thought I could ever muster. And more self-restraint. Not because she’s a difficult child… quite the opposite! But parenting is crazy. It’s been an amazing journey at each turn.

The latest turn, one I was really not expecting, is finding out that this girl is really, really funny. She’s always had a great sense of humor and been quite clever, but now her humor is real… not kid humor, but stuff that I find myself laughing at as if she was a peer. What a delightful surprise!

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I’m really hoping that the upcoming journey to middle school is full of only delightful surprises… :P

By shannon | Posted in Families, personal | 5 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Bonus points

June 6, 2008 – 3:53 pm

So, a week and two days before Mothers Day I got a call from a guy who wanted to have pictures of his daughters to give to his wife for Mothers Day. I was already booked for that week, but decided to squeeze them in. I told him I wouldn’t have fit him in if he wasn’t a dad. But the fact that he was thinking even a week ahead, trying to do something nice for his wife… I’m a softie. I squeezed them in on my next day off, and managed to get them proofed late Saturday night so he could show her the images on Sunday morning.

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A sweet moment…

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She had the best faces! I love this age (under1), where they interact, but aren’t really acting for the camera… Still genuine…blogh6.jpg

This age (2) is a little different. They are a bit more wary and either get cheesy or avoidant. So to get a real, genuine expression is a treat. Even if it’s not a smile! :)

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Of course, once dads get involved, the smiles become genuine and unavoidable!

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I love this shot… it’s happy.

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We happened upon this chalk art, just begging to be photographed!

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We couldn’t leave Fozzie out! This shot makes me smile.

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I loved all the different expressions, so I had to put them all in one place!

This was fun. I’m glad I could help surprise a mom with something I would love to get!

By shannon | Posted in Families, babies, photography, portraits | 4 comments         Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment